Beginner advice

Question

Hi I am a self tought web developer with a year experience in using html/css/javascript/ and only just recently learned php/mysql for about 4 months.I have never used a cms before and now I was recently asked to learn Wordpress in a month with all it's features.

As I was told I have to learn it from more of a developers point of view so theme development and plugin development is a must.

What I want to ask is 8 hours a day enough for learning Wordpress in a month?And can I get some recommendations on what books should I read to get up to speed on what I need to know?

I have seen that most of the books that are out are talking about Wordpress 3 but the most recent version is Wordpress 3.3.Will it confuse me if I learn from a book that teaches from an earlier version?

Answer 1

I would strongly recommend that you do not go for books as your main source of knowledge and learning, but instead attempt to code and develop in WordPress itself, then use the internet to research when you have a gap in your knowledge.

Take apart plugins and themes that do what you want, or look interesting, and read the codex.

Of particular note for understanding WordPress and development are the following subjects:

• WP_Query
• Custom post types and taxonomies
• Hooks and filters
• The template heirarchy
• The main loop
• The Query variables ( an excellent resource for this is the WP_Query page in the wordpress codex
• wp_enqueue_style and wp_enqueue_script

Any books you buy will very very likely be outdated.

Also keep in mind the wordpress.com theme guidelines. There is a theme checker plugin you can install that can scan your theme and make suggestions and point out any flaws or bad practices it finds

Articles by Otto and Justin Tadlock are also very enlightening, and they crosslink to the posts of many other people of similar or greater experience.

And above all I cannot stress how important it is that you know what is in this talk by Nacin:

http://www.slideshare.net/andrewnacin/you-dont-know-query-wordcamp-portland-2011

If something baffles you don't be afraid to ask for help, and you can always come here or the Wordpress.org support forums. Also keep in mind that there are a lot fo APIs in WordPress that most people aren't aware of, like the upload APIs, the HTTP remote APIs etc

Answer 2

Try and break it. If you do, reinstall it and try and break it again. First learn child themes, then get into the guts.

Child themes will get you into making WP look the way you want, and is quite powerful. Creating templates will get it to do what you want. There's a world of difference between the two.

Before you post questions, spend some time trying to fix it.

When you post questions, never ask without code and a reason for why you got to where you are.

Be humble, and accept that WP is greater than the sum of its parts.